A toddler, that’s what she is. She’s mastering the art of mobility on two legs. But, she is so much more. Explorer, is perhaps the better term.
She’s found that those two long appendages aid her in climbing atop the piano keyboard where ivories can be stomped into beautiful music, in conquering the dining room table where “no-no” flowers adorn the center, and in scaling the kitchen cabinet near the tempting food. Hey, folks, there’s a whole new world around her and she’s out to explore it inch by inch.
Clad in a hand-me-down bikini, she makes her first trip to the beach, full of the very same enthusiasm with which she takes everything.
Forsooth, she does not like grass tickling her barefoot nor does she like stepping on sticks and stones. Forget about the verse that such break bones; they also hurt tender feet. After one attempt walking barefoot in the picnic area, she refuses to drop her legs into walking position. For once, since she’s gained the freedom which comes with walking, she elects to be carried.
But the sand, both the sun-warmed, soft kind and the tide-washed cool beach are appealing. She laughs aloud as big brother buries her feet under the mysterious ground cover and as she wiggles her toes free.
For her, the beach is alive with interesting playtoys - shells of every shape and kind, driftwood, even littered bottle caps. Item by item she picks them up and shares them with the nearest person for as long as anyone will hold out a hand to accept her find.
And if the beach is grand, the water’s finer. Come on in. “Bath! Bath!” She calls splashing water everywhere. Even the ocean’s not too big for her.
As the late afternoon winds blow cold, chilling her small body, this perpetual motion machine gladly accepts the swaddling of beach towels and cuddling against mother’s body for warmth. Even the stillness is a part of the beach magic.
Perhaps there is nothing more exciting than first time discoveries, be it walking, beaching or riding a bike. And perhaps, there is nothing more intriguing than watching one frolic in discovery, and wondering when and where a person loses that breathtaking exuberance for being alive.
1978
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